Absorbent articles of the type mentioned at the outset are intended to be worn in close contact with the user's body. Such an absorbent article is generally placed inside the user's underwear and, during use, is held in place against the user's body by the pressure from the underwear. However, it has become increasingly common for women to wear so-called thongs, i.e. underwear with an extremely narrow crotch portion. A problem in this respect is that the sanitary towels and panty liners which have hitherto been available are shaped to fit in conventional briefs. When they are used in conjunction with thongs, a number of problems therefore arise. A practical problem is that it is virtually impossible to secure a conventional sanitary towel or panty liner in a thong garment in such a way that the towel or panty liner fits correctly in relation to the user's body and is additionally held in place throughout its use. For example, there is a very great risk of the absorbent article shifting sideways, which means that there is always a risk of leakage occurring. Another important problem is associated with the fact that thong garments are often used for aesthetic purposes since they are almost invisible, even under tight-fitting clothes, and do not give rise to unsightly edge lines or creases in the clothes.* With conventional absorbent articles which project past the edges of the thongs, much of the desired aesthetic effect of using thong garments is of course lost. A further problem which arises when using an absorbent article designed for conventional underwear is that projecting portions of the article bend and, as a result, surfaces provided with adhesive can then attach themselves to other surfaces provided with adhesive. Such adhesive-to-adhesive attachment is very difficult to break and means that it is virtually impossible to remove the article from the thongs without tearing the article. *A conventional hour-glass shaped absorbent article is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,849,003, which article comprises adhesive fastening means.
It is therefore desirable to have an absorbent article which is adapted to the shape of a thong garment. This means that the article must be designed with a narrow rear portion and that the long sides of this rear portion are substantially arc-shaped. It is also desirable that the long sides of the article are substantially arc-shaped in order to match the shape of the thong garment. An absorbent article which satisfies the aims set out above is described in SE 9803981-1.
It is desirable that the article can be placed and secured in the thong garment in such a way in relation to the user's body that no liquid runs out past the edges of the article and that the absorption capacity of the article can be utilized to the full. Absorbent articles are generally secured in thongs with the aid of a fastening means, for example conventional fastening adhesive, friction lining or other fastening means suitable for the purpose. Swedish Patent Application 9803981-1 describes an article in which an adhesive fastening means is arranged in the form of bands extending in the longitudinal direction of the article, of which a central band of adhesive extends along a centre line extending in the longitudinal direction of the article. The adhesive fastening means is thus arranged on an area which coincides with the wetting area. Wetting area refers to the area of the liquid-permeable cover sheet which is intended to be first wetted by body fluid discharged towards the article. Such a fastening means permits very secure fastening of the absorbent article in a thong garment. However, a problem associated with the above-described positioning of the adhesive fastening means is that the absorbent article cannot move freely relative to the thong garment and therefore cannot assume the desired shape. The article according to SE 9803981-1 thus has a limited ability to adapt anatomically to the user's body, which has the consequence that the absorption capacity of the article cannot be utilized to the full.
The liquid-tight cover sheet, on the outside of which the adhesive fastening means is normally arranged, advantageously has a certain permeability to air and water vapour, which means that the absorbent article is able to breathe and thus feels comfortable to wear. Above all, it is desirable that the area of the article which, during use, coincides with the area which will be arranged over the user's genitals is not blocked against passage of air and water vapour since the area at the user's genitals is normally the area which is the most moist. A problem associated with an article according to SE 9803981-1 is that the adhesive fastening means is arranged such that it covers a large surface of the front portion of the article which, during use, substantially coincides with the user's genitals. This greatly limits the ability of the front portion to breathe, which means that the article feels damp and uncomfortable to wear.
Another problem associated with an article with adhesive fastening means arranged over a large surface of the liquid-tight cover sheet is that there is a greater risk of the thong garment, which is often made of sensitive and relatively fragile material, being damaged by the adhesive fastening means upon removal of the absorbent article from the thongs after use. A further problem associated with an article of this type is that the risk of adhesive residue remaining in the thong garment increases when the adhesive fastening means is arranged over a large surface of the liquid-tight cover sheet.
It is therefore desirable to be able to remedy the abovementioned problems by arranging the adhesive fastening means in such a way that, during use, an optimum anatomical adaptation of the absorbent article is achieved, and at the same time the surface taken up by the adhesive fastening means is minimized.